Passengers on board a SpiceJet service from Dubai to Madurai, India, had to swap planes on Monday after a problem was discovered with the landing gear.
A recovery aircraft was sent to the UAE to collect passengers disembarking the Boeing-737 Max operated by the Indian budget airline.
The airline said a potential problem with the nose wheel was spotted by ground engineers before take-off.
The aircraft had earlier arrived in Dubai from Mangalore. Those on board were returned to Tamil Nadu on the replacement aircraft, also a Boeing-737 Max.
A standard investigation has been opened by the India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
“SpiceJet flight SG23 operating from Dubai to Madurai was delayed due to a last minute technical issue,” a representative for the airline said.
“Alternate aircraft was arranged immediately which brought passengers back to India. Flight delays can happen with any airline.
“There has been no incident or a safety scare on this flight.
“After the minor technical issue was resolved, the first aircraft flew back to India as a commercial flight.”
It was the ninth technical issue recorded by the airline on passenger aircraft since May 1.
On July 5, a SpiceJet flight from Kandla to Mumbai arrived in India safely, shortly after pilots reported a cracked windscreen at 23,000 feet and requested a priority landing.
That same day, a suspected fuel leak occurred on a flight near Karachi, while three days earlier, smoke was reported in the cabin of a SpiceJet Dash 8 aircraft.
On June 19, pilots on a SpiceJet operated Boeing 738 at Patna reported a bird strike and another cracked windscreen was recorded on a flight near Mumbai on May 28.
An unexpected engine shutdown caused problems on a SpiceJet flight near Chennai on May 3, the same day that a take-off was aborted in Mumbai due to engine failure.
Two days earlier, passengers and crew were injured when a SpiceJet flight at Andal in West Bengal suffered turbulence.
Earlier this month, a freighter aircraft operated by the airline that was en route to Chongqing, China, returned to Kolkata after pilots realised shortly after take-off that their weather radar was not showing any data.
SpiceJet, India's third largest operator behind IndiGo and Air India, has since received a show-cause notice from the DGCA over its failure to establish safe, efficient and reliable air services.
A financial assessment by the DGCA in September 2021 found the airline was not paying its approved vendors and suppliers on time, leading to a shortage of spare parts and frequent invoking of minimum equipment lists required to operate.
The airline was hit hard financially when it was forced to ground its fleet of 13 Boeing 737 Max aircraft as a result of an investigation by the manufacturer into safety issues.
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- Agüero 18'
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The Little Things
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
MATCH INFO
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
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